Holiday Decorating Can be Simple...

We've got a family birthday at the end of November. I've been party planning and cake decorating my little heart out. 

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That means that Christmas decorating gets put on hold until December every year, which I guess isn't a bad thing.  But it does mean, with all the other obligations at this time of year, that I like to keep things simple. 

I took the time yesterday to work on two simple projects I felt needed some Christmas attention and would give me BIG decorating for little EFFORT.  First, I have two urns in front of my shed, beside my house.  They are an attempt to makes the giant white shed not so, well, giant.  The urns are exposed, which in turn means they get snowed on...a lot!  Anything I put there has to have enough height to still be visible in a couple feet of snow.

I  went to go to the local grocery store and picked up a bundle of spruce clippings, a bundle of mixed branches, a pine cone and a round ornament for about $25 for each of the urns.  This is my before...embarrassing, but true.

After pulling out the dead plants, and doing my best to loosen up some of the frozen soil, I was able to start by putting in my spruce branches first.  The tall ones went at the back, in the hopes you'll still be able to see a bit of the arrangement with the snow.  Next I layered in the other branches, clipping them when necessary.  I used a really long screwdriver when the soil didn't cooperate.  I have heard that a drill also does the trick.  Finally, in went the large pinecone and ornament, both of which come already fastened to a stick (thanks Loblaws!).  I took some ribbon I already had, did a bow and attached it to the ornament.  I think it's a huge improvement.

My next project was to dress up my mantle.  I have a new painting from Matt Leblanc over my mantle that wasn't there last year.  I decided to use it as my colour inspiration and do all the ornaments in similar colours.  The garland is tied to the mantle with nails and string (it's an old house, so it's ok...otherwise you could use the 3M removable hooks), the ornaments are attached with craft wire and I tucked in sprigs of gold and copper faux branches.  I'm really happy with the outcome.

The garland is something I reuse every year, but what I attach to it changes.  It'll be our pretty until we get our real tree next week!  I'm very excited about that, as it will be my first real tree since I was a baby!  We'll see after this holiday if the tradition will continue next year or not.

Happy Decorating!

Certified Interior Decorator,
Solace Interiors

Every Little Bit Counts

I have always been one to help out where I can.  I put up my hand a lot.  I organize a lot of events.  I say yes, when possible.  In January of last year, a request came home from the kids' school asking for a volunteer to organize a silent auction.  I was not overly busy with my teaching and work schedule, and I figured, why not?  The school was trying to raise money to install a playground for the primary kids. For any school council parents out there, you know how much work is involved in raising funds for these projects.  At my first meeting, the organizer for the playyard renewal told me she was hoping for $20,000 from the silent auction.  I choked a bit and then came back with a more realistic (and hopeful) number of $5000.  In the end we raised over $5500.  It was just a little contribution to the overall goal, but I was pleased to have done my part.  I also donated to the cause personally by donating a colour consultation.  The lucky recipients have had a busy time renovating their home, so we waited until a couple of weeks ago to do the colours for the main floor. This is what we chose:

For the inset for the television and accompanying receiver area in the kitchen, we will use Benjamin Moore's Escarpment (CC518).  This will reduce the contrast between the television and the wall colour, making it blend in a bit better.  The same colour will be used in the dining room.

The rest of the kitchen area will be done in Revere Pewter (HC172), which works beautifully with their new Corian countertops and marble and glass mosaic backsplash.  The living room and entrance will be done in Stone House (CC120) which is a beige without too much pink in it. It happens to work well with their existing furniture and the brick on the fireplace, which for the moment will be staying.  The trim and ceiling in all areas will be done in the ever popular Cloud White (CC40), because well, it just works.

And now the play yard is in too.  Happiness is in abundance.

 Nothing like seeing a project come to fruition.  I can't wait to see these paint colours go up too.

Winter Sanity

I'm a mother of two little kids.  They are both in school now and life is busy.  The busiest time of the day?  Mornings.  Between the lunch preps and the breakfasts and the nagging for them to get dressed and brush their teeth, and my getting ready, there is little time to look for things as we are running out the door.  I KNOW I am not alone in this!  With winter RIGHT around the corner, this is only going to get more hectic. 

I have put in place a few things to, #1, keep from yelling at my kids and, #2, to keep my sanity and I'm about to share them with you.

First up is my labeled basket system.  I have found these baskets at Canadian Tire at one of their crazy discount sales.  Each person has a bin with their name on it.  Every time you come in from outside, your "stuff" goes in the basket.  No more "what have you done with your hat???".

Next is the hooks for the little people.  The adults and my giant stepson are able to hang up their clothes on hangers in the closet, but the little kids get to put their stuff on a hook.  There are two great things about this.  Firstly, they can get their coats by themselves.  Secondly, I have strategically placed the hooks over a vent, so their wet winter clothes dry out before morning.  If they went into a closet they would still be damp in the morning.

When my daughter was in Junior Kindergarten, we spent many mornings looking for mittens.  We'd find they hadn't been put away or they were wet or they were mysteriously missing.  I thought of the whole idea of having stringed mittens, but they are not perfect.  Then I found these mitten clips at Kiddytown, down the street.  What a fabulous invention!  Now you can take any pair of mittens and clip them to their coats.  The mittens NEVER get lost.  And with them hanging off their coats, over the vent, they too are dry in the morning.  I have since seen very decorative ones, but even these do the trick.

Next it's the footwear.  Although we have a small entry way in our 50's home, we do have enough space for a bench.  This one is from Ikea, but I noticed they don't carry it any longer.  There is a similar one that is a bit smaller.  For our bench, each person is given two cubbies.  If you have more shoes, they need to go in the closet.  My stepson isn't around enough to warrant a shoe cubby, and well, size 14 basketball shoes just don't fit!  I have also placed a large scale mirror in the entry way, to bring more light into the space, and to functionally allow you to check some last minute things before heading out the door.  Every entry way needs a mirror!  This one also covers up an "architectural detail" that is a 1.5 ft square box in the wall for placing the telephone.  You can see from the ledge that is there, that it is also off centre. 

Lastly, I need to have keys when I'm heading out the door.  For years, I have had my keys on a carabiner.  Since we retrofitted our closet space with these shelving racks, I can clip my keys right by my basket.  I also happen to clip them to my purse when I'm going out.  Not just for the mountain climber! 

 

I hope some of these organizing tips get you set for the coming cold weather.  If you need help getting your entry way organized, give me a shout.

Happy Little Fridge

On Saturday, I went for a walk in the Glebe with my husband and two kids.  After enjoying some very delicious gluten/dairy/egg-free treats from The Wild Oat (thank you so much!), I was left to explore a couple of kitchen and decorating stores while my darling husband took the little peeps (aka the things that can't stop touching stuff) to the toy store.  He got brownie points for that one.

While I was walking around in J.D. Adam Kitchen and Home Accessories, I found something that I knew I "needed" but didn't know existed.  I almost did a little gleeful yelp, but I kept it all inside.  This is the gem I found:

Solace Interiors

Oh 'Fridge Binz!, where have you been all my life?  

As many of you know, my daughter was diagnosed with food intolerances in August.  This has meant that our already crowded fridge has become extra crowded as we have to stock dairy and non-dairy substitutes of everything.  I also enjoy cooking and many of my recipes call for multiple condiments.  I had a whole door full of bottles that I might need for one recipe, but don't use on a daily basis.  But, if you push all those bottles to the back of the fridge, I may inadvertently purchase a second bottle of a sauce or spread, thinking I was all out (PET PEEVE!).  Then along comes 'Fridge Binz!.

Here is my fridge earlier today:

Solace Interiors

Here is my lovely new bin filled with jams, horseradish, seafood sauce, olives, and good 'ol flax meal.

Solace Interiors

While I was reorganizing my fridge, I took took the opportunity to clean it.  My mother would be so proud!  I also ended up moving around a shelf.  Check out my bin on the orange juice shelf.  

Solace Interiors

I can pull it out very easily and access any condiment I need.  If you had more storage needs in your fridge, 'Fridge Binz! are stackable and come in a variety of sizes.  The one I purchased was 8"x14.5"x4".  I love it.  On a side note, I was recently working with clients that kept a Kosher kitchen and I wonder if this would be an option for keeping dairy and meat separate in a small fridge.  So many options and so much nicer than a simple plastic box.  The plastic is BPA-free and is extremely durable.  It feels to be as thick at the drawers already in the fridge, so I think it's going to be around for years to come. 

Happy Organizing, my friends!